Harsh Thakor
First Class Star
- Joined
- Oct 1, 2012
- Runs
- 3,520
- Post of the Week
- 2
Rarely in the history of the game have 2 great batsmen been so close to each other in stature.Zaheer Abbas and Gundappa Vishwanath were the ultimate stylists of their day and age giving the art of batting it's prose or poetry.They were simply the epitome of artistry and elegance reminiscent of a musician or painter.,literally sculpting their innings.Their strokes had the beauty of a lotus blooming.
Zaheer was the marginally more complete , classical and stylish.Vishy was the more creative and talented.Zaheer was better against spin,Vishy better against pace.Zaheer was more effective on the flat tracks,Vishy better on the fast or bad ones.Zaheer had a better penchant for making mammoth scores,Vishy was the better batsmen in a crisis.
Statistically Zaheer had a better batting average of 44.79 ,but Vishwanath was more prolific scoring 6080 runs and much more successful against the premier team of their day,the West Indies,Vishwanath scored 4 centuries at an average above 50 against them while Zaheer scored no century and averaged only 17.In Australia considering the opposition Zaheer fared better averaging over 57 in 1976-77 facing the likes of Lillee,including scoring a century.Vishy averaged over 50 in 1977-78 but against a 2nd string attack,with only Thomson a genuine great.In England Zaheer was definitely a notch ahead scoring 2 double centuries,but again it was Vishy who was better in crisis situations like at Lords in 1979 and at the Oval and Old Trafford in 1982.At home what gave the edge to Zaheer were his scores against India which were Bradmanesque.Pertinent that both Zaheer and Vishy never scored a test hundred in a losing cause.
.The Vishy against West Indies in 1974-75 and 1978-79 would have been more an asset to a side than Zaheer Abbas.However the Zaheer Abbas against England in 1971 and arguably 1974 as well as against India at home in 1978-79 and 1982-83 would have have been a more eligible candidate than Vishy.In Australia it was virtually a draw .
With a gun on my head by less than a a whisker I would choose Gundappa Vishwanath over Zaheer Abbas.My main criteria was Vishy's consistency in a crisis,on bad wickets and against sheer pace.
Zaheer was the marginally more complete , classical and stylish.Vishy was the more creative and talented.Zaheer was better against spin,Vishy better against pace.Zaheer was more effective on the flat tracks,Vishy better on the fast or bad ones.Zaheer had a better penchant for making mammoth scores,Vishy was the better batsmen in a crisis.
Statistically Zaheer had a better batting average of 44.79 ,but Vishwanath was more prolific scoring 6080 runs and much more successful against the premier team of their day,the West Indies,Vishwanath scored 4 centuries at an average above 50 against them while Zaheer scored no century and averaged only 17.In Australia considering the opposition Zaheer fared better averaging over 57 in 1976-77 facing the likes of Lillee,including scoring a century.Vishy averaged over 50 in 1977-78 but against a 2nd string attack,with only Thomson a genuine great.In England Zaheer was definitely a notch ahead scoring 2 double centuries,but again it was Vishy who was better in crisis situations like at Lords in 1979 and at the Oval and Old Trafford in 1982.At home what gave the edge to Zaheer were his scores against India which were Bradmanesque.Pertinent that both Zaheer and Vishy never scored a test hundred in a losing cause.
.The Vishy against West Indies in 1974-75 and 1978-79 would have been more an asset to a side than Zaheer Abbas.However the Zaheer Abbas against England in 1971 and arguably 1974 as well as against India at home in 1978-79 and 1982-83 would have have been a more eligible candidate than Vishy.In Australia it was virtually a draw .
With a gun on my head by less than a a whisker I would choose Gundappa Vishwanath over Zaheer Abbas.My main criteria was Vishy's consistency in a crisis,on bad wickets and against sheer pace.
Genuinely made me laugh. Although that poster's post me laugh even more. There's delusion, and then there's stupidity.
